Chương 1177: 1207 - Decisive Victory

As Leon's order to begin the attack was relayed throughout the advancing armada, arks began spreading out like flower petals. They had the numbers to envelop their enemy, and they were going to use them to surround the enemy from every angle they could without risking friendly fire. At the same time, the largest weapons in the armada began to speak, with great lightning bolts erupting from the main cannons of the dreadnaughts and heavy cruisers echoing the sentiment with their largest Lightning Lances.

Given the distance between the opposing fleets, the lightning bolts reached the enemy long before the Lance bolts did, smashing a dozen of the largest arks in Yun's Empire into burning wrecks in an instant. Beams of light from the Imperial arks answered their comrades' death rattles, though the magic largely spread and dissipated before splashing harmlessly across the light shields of Leon's arks.

Minutes passed as Leon's arks moved and the Imperial arks did their best to evade, but with Lightning Lance bolts raining down upon them, if the Imperial arks moved too much despite the distance giving them plenty of opportunity, then the bolts would fall upon the planes. Leon appreciated that while they fought against him, the ark crews were at least willing to take hits to keep the Lance bolts from falling upon their homes.

In five minutes, a tenth of the enemy arks were destroyed or rendered inoperable, while Leon's arks were largely unscathed. Seeing this, the expanding net of arks slowed as it moved to envelop the Imperial formation, seeking to use the armada's massive range advantage to batter the enemy into defeat. It took only one salvo's worth of time for the defenders to see the change in strategy, and to their detriment, they began to advance to meet Leon's arks.

This put them at an immense disadvantage, though they had little choice other than to surrender or continue taking hits they couldn't respond to. Getting away from their home planes might also give them the ability to properly engage in evasive maneuvers, too. But it was a struggle; arks exploded or fell back to the planes as holes were gouged into their hulls, and lightning bolts from Leon's dreadnaughts ripped them to pieces.

But they soldiered on, and eventually, the order was given for the fighter arks to deploy. Clouds of arks glimmered in the light of the three local suns as they spilled from hangar bays. They accelerated hard at the enemy, their weapons much smaller than their foes', but quite effective against the smallest enemy arks. Behind the fighters came looser clouds of giants and Ulta suits, who scrambled around Leon's arks to add point defense and to effect emergency repairs where needed.

The battle was decisively swinging in Leon's favor, but there was still some cost to pay; one light cruiser took quite a few hits and was forced to fall back, her armor scored by beams of burning light and several compartments venting out into the Void. Another light cruiser took a bad hit to the rear compartments and seemed to completely shut down.

Several destroyers and frigates were badly mauled as the defenders did their best to concentrate fire on the arks they could reliably damage, but only three destroyers and five frigates were so heavily damaged that they were rendered incapable of retreating past their less damaged comrades. Leon's blood burned at the sight of battle.

Storm Herald herself was a sight to behold, her massive, elegant hull hiding many weapons emplacements including a massive lightning cannon that roared several times faster than his dreadnaughts were. Every enemy ark that Storm Herald beheld banished beneath her power. To no small degree, Leon wanted to get out there and join his warriors, but his feet remained planted. There was a time and a place for his intervention, and this wasn't it.

More importantly, he hadn't seen anything yet happen that was so rage-inducing that he would set that principle aside. Only a few steps away, Yun and Zhang watched the carnage with differing expressions. Zhang looked the more composed of the two, but his wide eyes swiveling in their sockets as they darted from burning ark to ruined ark, tracking every explosion and every loss the empire suffered, betrayed his deep anxiety.

Yun, despite wearing a profound frown, appeared the cooler and calmer of the two on closer inspection. The men dying for 'his' Empire had little effect on him, or so it outwardly appeared to Leon.

'Good,' he thought.

'If he couldn't handle this much, then leaving him in charge of his Empire might've been a mistake…' Minutes turned to several hours, and the debris field around Yun's Empire had grown considerably. Two hundred and nineteen enemy arks had been either destroyed or crippled. The remainder, nearly all heavily damaged, finally surrendered in any way they could. Transports were deployed to board all intact arks whether they had power or not and secure them, along with their remaining crews.

Leon's main force, however, blew right past them on course for Jiaxing. The debris above Jiaxing was denser than around Xixing, where Yun had been chased, but it was still more than navigable. Hundreds of arks had met their end out in the Void, and many still looked reasonably intact.

As Leon's magic senses swept across the surface of the plane, he even saw many arkyards with damaged arks on enormous pads being seen to by arksmiths and engineers—the Empire wasn't wasting any arks that might be repaired or salvaged, it seemed. As they descended, Yun and several comms officers began making many calls, contacting as many of the high-ranking provincial bureaucrats and military officers as they could.

With a decisive victory in the Void, most were more than willing to immediately swear their allegiance to Yun—and, after some added pressure, to Leon as Yun's overlord. By the time Storm Herald tasted the air of Jiaxing, half of the plane had already surrendered. As arks spread across the firmament and bore down on the Imperial City, the surrenders kept flowing in. None, however, came from behind the Imperial City's walls.

The enormous city, home to at least five million people and protected by several layers of grand moats and thick walls, didn't respond to any hails from Yun and the comms officers. This suggested to Leon that the eunuch and regents had seized control over all comm stones in the city.

Leon also noted that the gatehouses and towers were all fully manned, giving the city the protection of strong wards in the walls and more than a hundred Light Lances spread across the city—though those Lances were concentrated mostly along the perimeter, capping tall towers and tracking as many of Leon's approaching arks as they could. Within three hours of Yun addressing the arks above his Empire, Leon's arks had the Imperial City surrounded.

With that, he clapped Yun on the shoulder and said, "You're almost home. Are you ready to take those final few steps?" Yun glanced at him, noble stoicism plastered across his face.

"Yes, King Leon," he answered.

"Wonderful," Leon warmly stated.

"But first, we're going to set up camp outside and regroup." Yun gave him a curious look, not quite daring to directly question Leon's strategy, but expressing his doubt all the same. Leon turned him around and began leading him out of the room, his followers and Zhang following close behind.

"It's better this way," he explained as he began tracing the path to Storm Herald's main hangar.

"I'd rather the city surrender peacefully instead of resisting. A day or two of trying to get those gates open diplomatically might be warranted. I'll get Clear Day on that. I'm also of a mind to wait for some of your Empire's forces to join us." Yun's composure finally broke.

"Really?" he asked skeptically.

"You'll be allowed to maintain some local forces," Leon stated, "though all military-grade arks will be put to use in my central army. Still, I don't mind allowing you to raise your own auxiliaries. I trust your people to maintain your own peace. That way, I don't have to worry about it." He gave Yun a cheeky grin, and the twenty-year-old former Emperor slumped in response. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Noticing his more dejected demeanor, Leon loosened his hold over the younger man's shoulders and slowed his pace a little.

"You'll see when this is all over," he whispered.

"This arrangement will benefit you and your people. Keep the peace, stay loyal, see to your contractual obligations, and you'll have no trouble from me. You can rule these planes as you see fit. And if you get tired of it, have some kids, pass your title to them, and do something else. Train your power, achieve Apotheosis, come to the Nexus. It may seem humiliating now, but your oaths have guaranteed you access to the Nexus and the resources that fall within my borders."

"My ancestors will not celebrate me for it, no matter how many benefits my oath has given me," Yun simply stated. Leon bitterly smiled and remained quiet during the journey down to Jiaxing. He didn't accompany Yun, Zhang, and the rest of his entourage in transport arks, however; instead, he took his repaired and upgraded Ulta suit, now with one of Siddi's 'children' as his suit assistant.

It was a quick jaunt to the plains surrounding Jiaxing, and the establishment of a large camp and siege lines went without resistance. Leon followed through on sending Clear Day to join the scouts and find a way to get those in the city to give up, and then settled in to wait two or maybe three days. The nearest Imperial army group that surrendered to Yun was called to join his army on the plains, numbering close to thirty thousand men.

For the moment, it looked like a foreign force was putting the Imperial City under siege, but when this local force arrived in two days, it would significantly change matters. At the very least, Leon was certain that those within the city would be more comfortable surrendering to their own people rather than his. However, that kind of sentiment didn't extend to the rural magnates, many of whom were only too willing to surrender the moment Leon's forces began establishing patrols in the area.

Town mayors and the owners of large estates came to Leon's camp to present themselves, and they brought their retainers, too. Leon met them in a large hall erected by giants and his engineers with Yun at his side, though in a clear position of both honor and subordinance. Despite his clear dislike for having been made to surrender to Leon, Yun announced repeatedly to these landed nobles that he'd surrendered to Leon, and as a result, Leon received their submission before Yun did.

Unlike Yun, however, they weren't made to swear any particular oaths to Leon, especially since he demanded only obedience from them, and to continue serving Yun as they had his father and dynasty. With arks circling overhead, Tempest Knights surrounding them in the halls, and Leon's army, which included giants and Ulta suits, all around them in the camp, submission was easy for these magnates to stomach.

With the addition of these magnates and their retainers, which Leon allowed Yun to take charge of, almost one thousand local warriors joined his ranks. More importantly, the fertile plains that normally fed the millions of people in the Imperial City were now being used to feed his army.

The good news kept coming as they waited for Clear's return and the arrival of the thirty-thousand soldiers who'd already sworn themselves to Leon and Yun, as many of the arks that had retreated upon Yun's short speech managed to get into contact and formally surrender. Leon ordered these arks mustered, and over the second day, an auxiliary force of some thirty frigate and destroyer-class arks joined his in surrounding the Imperial City.

The ark captains were made to swear their loyalty and obedience to Leon, then to Yun, just as the local magnates had. Little fuss was had, to Leon's delight. So far, the campaign had gone so smoothly that he almost couldn't believe it. When the morning of the third day came and Clear brought a delegation of nobles from the city, the campaign only became smoother. These nobles denounced the regents and the eunuchs, swearing again and again their loyalty to Yun.

They promised that the gates would be open to Leon's army the following morning, and to guarantee that happening, only a handful returned to the city when night fell. For his part, Leon went to relax, but when he projected his magic senses to check on Yun and Zhang, he found them missing from their assigned quarters close to his small, hastily erected palace. For a moment, he thought that the former Emperor may have fled, but he soon located them on top of a shallow hill that had a great view of the Imperial City.

The hill had been set aside as an emergency arkpad but had gone unused, leaving it perhaps the best place for the two to find some privacy. Still, his curiosity piqued, Leon went to join them instead of heading to rest for the night. When he made his final approach, he found that neither of them were speaking.

Yun sat in the grass, his back to a tree stump, his eyes focused on little more than the haze of light in the air above the city, for even under siege, the city wasn't asleep—not that Leon expected it to be with all that needed to happen during a siege. Zhang, meanwhile, stared at the palace complex in the north, which lay behind additional fortifications that Leon thought they might have to take violently when the time came.

His look was far more complex than Yun's more pensive expression, but Leon judged them safe enough to approach.

"Hey there," he quietly said as he alighted upon the hill a few paces away. Neither Yun nor Zhang looked that surprised at his appearance, though Zhang bowed slightly as Yun made to rise.

"Please, don't get up on my account, stay comfortable. I'd rather we relax when in private." Yun relaxed as Zhang took a protective step toward him, though Leon didn't hold that against the bodyguard. Instead, he walked over and stood a few steps away, his eyes turning to the city.

"A beautiful city. How does it feel knowing that it's about to be yours again?" Yun scoffed quietly.

"It was never mine. Now… it will be yours."

"That's… let's not get too caught on the details," Leon responded.

"I meant all that I've said to you, Yun; I don't want to micro-manage you. You'll have great autonomy." Yun looked like he wanted to cut in, but Leon held up his hand, silencing him for the moment.

"I get that it's not ideal for you, that you still had to bow to me and lose your title. I won't pretend that that isn't a sacrifice. I won't pretend that that's nothing. I understand the pride of a King—of a monarch—is a heavy thing, for a King is his Kingdom's greatest representative. How can a King function without that pride? But… what's done is done. So let's make the best of it, yeah? We each exploit the benefits of this arrangement as much as we can. Let us have no regrets in this course of action."

As he spoke, Leon retrieved a bottle of ambrosia from his soul realm, along with three small glass tumblers.

"In that spirit…" he whispered as he poured the drinks, "let us toast. To the deaths of the eunuchs, to the deserved end of usurpers, and to new friends!" Yun and Zhang exchanged a look, but they took the offered glasses and, after some prompting from Leon, raised them and tossed them back. As the ambrosia hit their tongues, their expressions changed. Leon almost laughed as the dour pair brightened more dramatically than the sky at sunrise.

"We have some time before everything kicks off," Leon said as they looked forlornly at their cups. He swished the ambrosia in the bottle around and began pouring another round.

"What are you looking forward to the most to getting back into that city?" Leon expected many responses from the young man, but after a moment's thought as he stared into the golden ambrosia, Yun said, "I'm looking forward to getting a good night's sleep. I haven't had one of those in… longer than I can remember."

"Understandable," Leon replied. A silent look prodded Yun to continue.

"I… I want to reward the servants who have stayed with me throughout the regency," Yun stated.

"All those who remained loyal to my dynasty should be rewarded. Those who fell in my defense should be honored, too. And then… I suppose we should begin establishing ourselves as your gateway to the Great Strand of Rhea, shouldn't we?" Leon waved with friendly dismissiveness.

"That's all official business, though honoring your friends will always, itself, be honorable. I was thinking more about what you wanted, Yun. What do you want to do?" Yun's eyes glazed over as he stared out over the rooftops of the Imperial City. Neither the darkest slums nor the grandest palaces were reflected in his eyes.

"I… I don't know. I don't think anyone's asked me that before…" Leon turned to face him properly and waited patiently for a response, leaving the man unpressured as he thought the question over.

"I… I want to see the world outside of the palace," Yun finally said.

"I have read of so many amazing places just on Jiaxing, let alone the rest of the Empire. Or even the universe … I want to see it. I want to experience that freedom. I want to ascend to Apotheosis and be remembered as the greatest ruler this region has ever seen! I… I want to find someone to give my heart to, someone to start a family with, someone who can help me to honor my ancestors by giving me many heirs…" Color flushed his cheeks at his final admission, and Leon smiled and laughed.

"Worthy goals, Yun. Worthy goals. Tomorrow, we begin to set them into motion." Yun slowly nodded, a smile of his own spreading across his face, his dour mood looking like it had been permanently banished.

"Tomorrow…" he whispered.

"I can't wait…"